


A Good Laugh and A Long Sleep Are Two Of The Best Cures For Anything..

by BlackHawksChild



Series: What Defines Us... [2]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bath Sex, F/M, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Other tags to be added following Chapter 2, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Reunion Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-13 06:35:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5698588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackHawksChild/pseuds/BlackHawksChild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“A good laugh and a long sleep are two of the best cures for anything.” – Irish Proverb.</p><p>Sequel to Green-eyed Monster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Discordchick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Discordchick/gifts).



> Gift for Discordchick who requested a continuation of Green-Eyed Monster. Post Cap 2 and Non-AOU compliant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gift for Discordchick who requested a continuation of Green-Eyed Monster. Post Cap 2 and Non-AOU compliant.

" _A good laugh and a long sleep are two of the best cures for anything." – Irish Proverb._

Natasha walked towards the black SUV on the road, leaving Steve and Sam at Fury's grave to discuss whatever they were talking about as she left. She looked down at her phone as it beeped. She climbed into the driver's seat of the SUV, slamming the door closed before she read the message.

It was from Clint; ' _Since you have had a shitty day and an extremely fucked-up week, I have bought you those girly bubble bath things you have never admitted you like and bought proper Russian Vodka. And the minute you step off the plane I conned Tony into sending you, I will have a bath running for you in Stark's Tower where you told me to hide while you saved the world and Steve's ass. Again. – C xxx_ '.

Natasha smiled. ' _You are too good to me. Which airport, moy yastreb? – N xxx_ '.

Instead of a reply text, Natasha received a phone call from her lover. " _ **I needed to hear your voice,**_ " he said immediately as a greeting.

"I'm okay," she answered, sagging back into the seat as relief hit her at hearing her lover's voice. "My friend from 2009 got me in the shoulder this time. Just a flesh wound, I promise," she added before he could ask.

" _ **I'll give you my personal opinion when I have you in my arms**_ ," he informed her and she could hear his relief over the phone. " _ **That was too close, Tasha**_ ," he added; she had been wondering when he would .

"I know," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper. "I should be in New York by 7 if I leave now and beat traffic. You can check me for as many injuries as you want," she added, just to appease his worry.

" _ **Be careful**_ ," he requested and Natasha could hear all the words he wanted to say to her. " _ **I love you**_."

"I love you too," she whispered, smiling softly when he let out a sigh of relief. "I'll see you soon."

* * *

Natasha sighed as she stepped off Stark's personal Quinjet, pushing her hand through her hair as she walked down the ramp. And then she recognised the all too familiar body waiting at the bottom of the ramp. For her. "Clint," she breathed, almost falling into his arms in relief as she saw him for the first time in three months.

Clint buried his face in the crook of Natasha's neck, inhaling her scent as he held her close. He would never take her scent or holding her close for granted again. "I missed you," he mumbled hoarsely against the skin of her neck.

Natasha nodded. She didn't want to talk about the last few days. At least not now when she had her lover holding her, "Is that bath still on offer?" she murmured against his chest.

Clint slowly pulled back, smiling at her. "Yes. Lavender and vanilla bubble bath. JARVIS will turn the bath off once the water reaches a certain level," he answered, pecking her lips softly. "The bath is running in my assigned apartment," he added as he pulled away.

Natasha smiled and grabbed Clint's hand. "Lead the way, Mr. Barton," she told him, letting him lead her to the elevator. She smirked when she realised that Clint wanted to keep her as close to him as was humanly possible. As they leaned against the metal wall of the elevator, Clint buried his face into Natasha's hair, his eyes closed as he held her close. "You know I'm not going anywhere," Natasha commented drily against his chest even as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I am never taking holding you for granted ever again," he replied, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "I thought I was going to lose you," he whispered as he rested his forehead against hers.

Natasha bit her lip. "Thank you for telling Steve they had trackers on us," she whispered, pecking his lips gently. "It gave us an advantage."

Before Clint could say anything, the elevator had opened at his apartment. He took Natasha's hand in his and led her down the hallway to his bathroom. Steam was pouring out of the room as Clint opened the door. Natasha could feel herself relax as Clint sat on the toilet seat and slowly began to strip her carefully. When the last of her clothing hit the floor, she pulled him up so she could strip him. He tried to protest but she simple shook her head in reply.

Clint waited patiently as Natasha stripped him until he was as naked as her. Once all of his clothes hit the floor, she took his hand in hers and pulled him over to the bath. She gestured for him to climb in, earning a raised eyebrow from her lover. But he did as she requested, climbing into the tub, lying down and waited for her to climb in as well.

Natasha climbed in and settled in between Clint's legs, leaning back against his chest. He immediately brought his arms around her waist, holding her lose to him. She twisted her head to the side, kissing the side of his neck.

Clint reached for the washcloth sitting on the side of the bath. Natasha sighed in content as he washed her body. Her lover took his time, taking in her injuries as he ran the washcloth over her skin. She closed her eyes and let him take care of her, finally relaxing after everything that had happened the past week.

"Everything is out there, Clint," she whispered as Clint ran the cloth over her scar from where the Winter Soldier had shot her in 2009. "Every mark I killed. Every alias I have. Everything I did for the Red Room and S.H.I.E.L.D. My layers are gone."

Clint pressed his lips to the top of her head, inhaling her scent; he knew how much Natasha valued her covers, her privacy. "You did what you thought was the right thing, Tasha. Your actions saved countless of lives, alerting other powers to the threat they thought had been extinguished years ago. For anyone to think of you as anything but a survivor-turned-hero, then they show just how naïve the world still is in regards to the evilness of the world hidden from their lives," he whispered, holding her closer. "We can make more covers," he offered. "Better than those before. Just you and I."

Natasha bit her bottom lip before smiling softly. "You're the only one who knows the real me. Without the layers," she confessed. "Steve saw a bit. So did Nick. Maria. Phil. Mel. But you see me without masks," she whispered.

Clint hugged her close. "I'm honoured, Tasha," he informed her. "When I was under Loki's control, everything was blue. No other colour. And cold, like the world was covered in frost and snow. But anytime I thought of you, the world was red, like fire burning away the cold. Then when we fought, everything turned purple. You broke through his control for me," he confessed, kissing the top of her head. "You gave me a reason to fight his control."

Natasha bit back the tears threatening to fall. "Do you ever wonder what your purpose in life is?" she asked, her voice hoarse from unspoken emotions. "Everything we worked for is gone."

"Yes," he answered honestly. "When I'm alone with my thoughts, I wonder. Then you show up and remind me that when you have someone worth living for, every bad thing you've gone through was worth it." He pressed his lips to her temple. "Whatever our purpose in life is, Tasha, you have always been the reason for me to keep fighting even though the odds are against me."

Natasha squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I kept fighting to come home to you," she whispered. She thought back to almost four months ago, after his jealous induced storm-off and how it had brought them together. And the morning after. "Remember when I told you to ask me again a month later about living together?" she started, praising it like a question. When he 'Mmhmm'-ed, she continued, "I'd like that. After everything that's happened, being with you is the one thing I know that has the least likely chance to be taken from me."

Clint sighed in relief at her words. He brought one hand up to cup her jaw, guiding her face up so he could kiss her lips passionately. Natasha moaned and smiled into the kiss. She brought her uninjured arm up so she could grasp at the back of his neck.

Clint cupped one of her breasts with the hand that held the washcloth, pinching her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Natasha gasped into his mouth, arching her breasts into his touch. She felt him against the small of her back, making her growl appreciatively into his mouth.

"Please," she whimpered into his mouth. "Please. I need you."

"You have me," he promised, pulling away from her lips to kiss and nip on the skin of her neck. "I missed you so much, Tasha. Never letting you out of my sight again," he added, biting down on her clavicle.

Natasha threw her head back against his shoulder with a moan as she felt Clint slip his other hand between her legs, easily sliding two fingers inside her. His thumb found her clit, rubbing the bundle of nerves in slow circles while curling his fingers inside her.

Her hips moved in time with his movements, her other hand coming up to tease her other breast. She bit her bottom lip before gasping his name as he bit into the crook of her neck, leaving his mark on her skin. "Please, Clint," she moaned, her hips bucking into his hand.

Clint couldn't stop the primal desire he felt when she whispered please, over and over. It called to the caveman inside him. He twisted his head and caught the lobe of her ear, sucking on the flesh teasingly. "What do you want, Tasha?" he whispered, releasing her ear to tease her with his words. "Tell me what you want."

"Please. Let me come. Please. Clint," she moaned, her movements stuttering as Clint added a third finger inside her. "Please. Please. Clint."

Clint pressed his palm firmly against her clit, curling his fingers inside her. He pinched and twisted her nipple slightly, the fabric of the washcloth making her moan loudly. "Come for me, Tasha," he whispered huskily in her ear.

Natasha arched high up into his touch, sobbing his name as she came hard around her lover's fingers. Clint pepper her neck with nips and kisses, working her through her orgasm. She clasped the wrist of his hand between her legs, the stimulation too much.

Clint hummed as Natasha sagged back against him. He dropped the washcloth into the water and brought both hands up to cup her breasts, working her nipples slowly. Her breath hitched but she did nothing to stop him.

He groaned when he felt Natasha slip her hand behind her, grasping his cock firmly in her hand. He bucked his hips, burying his face in the crook of her neck, letting her pull away so she could turn in his arms and straddle him. She clasped his face between her hands and kissed him hungrily, making them both groan loudly into each other's mouths. He pulled her hips closer, letting her grind down on him.

She reached between them, gripping the base of his cock and positioning him at her entrance. Clint gripped her hips hard, the way she liked, as she slowly sank down on him. They moaned into the kiss, Clint bringing one hand up to the back of her head, grasping her hair as she slowly began to rock her hips against his. "Please," she whispered into his mouth, breaking the kiss, resting her forehead on his. "Clint."

Clint wrapped his arm firmly around her waist and helped her move over him slowly. Her knees pushed against his thighs from where she straddled him. Her hands gripped at his shoulders, their lips brushing as she moved her hips.

"Please," she whispered against his lips. "Please."

"Come for me, Tasha," he whispered. He brought his hand from her hair to in between them, his thumb easily finding her clit. "Come for me."

Natasha gasped his name before crying out as she came around him. She shuttered hard in his arms, moaning loudly when he pinched her bundle of nerves. "Clint," she whispered, her eyes closed as he held her to him. "You didn't come," she noted, her voice muffled from where her mouth was pressed against his neck, clenching her walls around his cock still inside her.

Clint groaned lowly when she squeezed his cock inside her. "Focused on you," he answered her, kissing her temple.

She lifted her head and kissed him deeply before rocking her hips again. Clint groaned into the kiss and let Natasha push him until his back hit marble. "Let me take care of you, moy yastreb," she whispered as his hands came to rest on his hips.

Clint held her hips, hard enough they'd leave his red prints but not hard enough to leave bruises. She rocked his cock deep inside her, leaning down and kissing her lover languidly. She smiled as she sucked on his bottom lip, biting lightly to make him groan into her mouth.

Clint felt himself getting closer and closer to falling over the edge. He planted his feet on the marble, giving Natasha more leverage as she began to fuck herself down harder on his cock. She leaned against his thighs, planting her hands on his knees as she moved. He thrust up into her, matching her pace as she rocked her hips down on his.

She bit her bottom lip as she felt Clint slip his hand between them, his thumb finding her clit again. "Please," she whimpered, "Please." She was coming before she realised it, letting out a scream as she came, her walls clenching around Clint.

He thrust twice more inside her before following her, spilling inside her. Natasha fell against his chest, sighing in content.

After a few minutes, Clint informed her, "Well, other than the fact that staying in the tub is going to make us shrink into raisins, you've managed to cross bath sex off my bucket list."

Natasha couldn't help it; she started laughing against Clint's chest. Her shoulders shook and Clint laughed with her.

Eventually, Clint lifted her up out of the bath so they could dry off. "We need to go to bed," she stated sleepily as she let Clint dry her body with the larger towel. She leaned against him and let him towel dry her hair, nuzzling his chest sleepily.

"A good laugh and a long sleep are two of the best cures for anything," he agreed, kissing her softly as he carried her out of the bathroom…

* * *

"Mr. Barton, Ms. Romanoff, Ms Potts has requested that everyone meet to discuss more permanent living arrangements," JARVIS informed the couple, waking them from their slumber.

"What time is it, JARVIS?" Natasha asked from where she lay on Clint's chest.

"It is currently 10.28, Ms Romanoff," JARVIS replied.

"Okay, JARVIS. We'll be down before eleven," Natasha replied before lifting her head to look at her lover. "Who's bright idea was it to go another two rounds last night?" she murmured, kissing his sternum before climbing out of bed.

Clint grinned as he watched Natasha almost successfully walk towards their bags so she could grab some clothes; she had a limp that would only be obvious to Clint. "If I recall, Miss 'Oh-yes-yes-please-please-don't-stop-, fill-me-up', you were very agreeable to my terms," he replied smugly.

Natasha looked up and glared half-heartedly at her lover. She looked into the contents of her bag and frowned. "We should go clothes shopping later," she commented.

"I vote coming back up here wearing no clothes," he stated, admiring his lover's appearance as she stood up.

Natasha smirked and walked back over to the bed. "If you behave, I might buy something to model for you," she offered her lover.

Clint grinned. "I knew there was a reason why I love you," he informed her as she leaned down and kissed him softly.

"I love you too, Clint," she whispered into his mouth. "Now, let's see what our team's mother hen wants before she plans to have us smothered in paperwork…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I used the quotes:  
> “Do you ever wonder what your purpose in life is?” – Lost In Translation.  
> “A good laugh and a long sleep are two of the best cures for anything.” – Irish Proverb.
> 
> This addition is to have two chapters (I’ve started the second :)…. First one okay?


	2. A Good Laugh

Natasha and Clint entered Tony and Pepper's apartment, finding Bruce, Tony, Sam and Steve sitting around a dining table. Pepper was standing in the kitchen door, on the phone to one person or another. The two assassins shared a look before making their way into the dining-room.

"Ah. Our two resident assassins have decided to take a break from their reunion sex!" Tony exclaimed, earning two raised eyebrows. He grinned smugly and pointed to the ceiling. "JARVIS loves me."

"Meaning you wanted your live porno," Natasha retorted, making Steve spit his drink out. Sam clapped the captain's back.

Tony opened his mouth but Pepper beat him to it. "Not this time. JARVIS only told him that you and Agent Barton were preoccupied with a personal and intimate reunion," she informed them as she made her way over to the table. She looked at Natasha, "I've managed to give you some privacy from the media by informing them that you've gone off grid for a while. No one has any contact with you other than any unknown allies not known to any S.H.I.E.L.D. operative."

"Thank you," Natasha replied, sighing in relief at knowing someone other than Clint had her back.

"I have a very serious question," Tony stated, making everyone look at him. "You had a few minutes before everything was uploaded. But instead of doing a quick select and delete on anything about your own past, you didn't. But Birdie over there," he revealed, pointing at Clint, "Is nowhere to be found among every piece of information you released to the world."

Clint looked at Natasha, surprise written clearly over his face. "Tasha?" he started but she shook her head in reply; they'd talk about it later.

"Stark, don't you have better things to be doing?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "Better things than trying to figure out why I do things the way I do?"

Tony bit the inside of his lip before shaking his head. "Not at the moment, no," he answered with a smug smirk. "But I do have a plan to make a private security for the world, using the Avengers if you're interested."

Clint waited until Natasha looked at him. "What do you think?" she asked in Russian, knowing that the rest of them couldn't understand her.

"It would stop people coming after you to a point," he commented. "I'll follow your lead, whatever you want."

Natasha turned back to the rest of the team. "We have right to veto against being sent on missions if we disagree," she stated, leaving no room for argument.

Tony thought about it and nodded. "Anything else?" he asked as Pepper typed on her phone.

Natasha and Clint looked at each other before the archer shook his head. "No, not at the moment."

"Do you want separate apartments?" Pepper asked, looking up from where she was typing on her phone. "I'm organising when where people will be residing now that S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone."

"We only need one, Pepper, thank you," Natasha answered, making Clint look surprised yet happy at her words.

"So that's a yes to my question?" Clint asked, even though Natasha had just given it to him.

Natasha looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. "What do you think, moy yastreb?" she replied in Russian, smirking smugly at her lover. Clint leaned forward and stole a kiss from her, making everyone whistle and applaud in reply.

"I told you that that was why she was wearing that necklace," Steve informed Sam, making the younger man laugh and take out his wallet, handing the Captain $20.

Natasha shook her head at the two. "You two… I leave you alone for less than twenty-four hours and you're causing trouble," she teased, smirking at them. "Have you spoken to the nurse yet?" she added, aiming it at Steve.

"You don't give up, do you?" Steve replied, raising an eyebrow at the red-head.

Natasha smirked and cocked her head to the side. "No. I find it amusing so I won't stop," she replied, feeling Clint place a hand on the small of her back. "I'm your annoying little sister that you never knew you had," she added.

Steve groaned playfully. "Why do I have a feeling this is like that movie you made me watch during the London mission?" he asked, frowning in thought at the red-head.

"10 Things I Hate About You?" she offered, smirking at him. "Believe me, you have no idea what other movies I could've made you watch," she added.

Tony pointed at Natasha and Clint. Before Pepper slapped his hand down. "I can so see you two as Bianca and Joey," he commented but turned to look at Steve. "But Capsicle over there… He's a bit too masculine to be Kat. And nicer too. So I can't see that happening."

"He's the male, shyer and kinder version of Kat," Sam offered, making everyone snigger at the Captain as he glared at his friend.

"Look what you've done," Steve commented, glaring half-heartedly at Natasha who was leaning against the hard chest of her lover.

"Me?" she replied innocently. "I did nothing."

"Except Clint," Tony quipped, earning a head-slap from Bruce this time.

Natasha and Clint glared at Tony. "Stark, you know I can do a lot of damage to you without even raising a hand against you," Natasha told the Genius.

"And I can use your suits as practice dummies," Clint added.

Tony paled. "You too are not allowed to team up together during team bonding nights," he informed them. "You two are dangerous together."

"Why do you think Fury wasn't happy when the Council split them up?" Steve asked, looking at Tony.

"I thought there were fraternising rules that forbade partners hooking up?" he replied, smirking smugly.

Steve raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think someone would say or do anything to split the best team in S.H.I.E.L.D.?" he asked rhetorically. "It was Pierce who ordered them to be broke up."

Natasha felt Clint tense behind her. She leaned her head against his shoulder, pulling his arms around her waist. "And Pierce is dead now. Because he fucked Nick over more times than me, I thought it would be fitting to let our former employer to have the final shot." She could hear Clint doing his sniper breathing behind her. "Easy, moy yastreb, you have nothing to shoot until we're alone," she whispered in Russian, making him chuckle lightly into her shoulder.

"That a promise?" he asked, his voice muffled against her shoulder.

She simply tapped _yes_ against his hand.

"You know what? We should have a team bonding session tonight. Drinks on me," Tony announced, smiling innocently when Pepper looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "To celebrate the fact that our two resident assassins have decided to finally do the horizontal tango," he informed his own girlfriend.

"Who says we do it horizontally?" Natasha replied smugly. "The rest of us are not as old as you, Stark," she added, making Pepper snigger beside Tony.

Tony looked wounded as he looked at Pepper. "Are you complaining now? After all these years?"

"You satisfy me," she answered, leaning down and pecking his lips. "But your attitude is slowly improving. It's my only complaint."

Bruce snorted beside Tony. "He still pokes me with that stupid stick," he commented, knowing it would stir a debate.

Steve glared at Tony. "How many times do you have to be told not to poke people who could literally tear you apart when you make them angry?"

That led to a team debate about poking people with taser rods…

* * *

 Natasha smiled as Clint stepped up behind her as she was standing in the kitchen, debating what she should have to eat. His arms wrapped around her waist as he rested his chin on her shoulder. She twisted her head to watch him as he simply stood there, wrapped around him.

"You had probably two minutes tops to delete any piece of information about yourself and deleted everything about me," he stated rather than asked, turning his head slightly to look at her.

"I thought I was going to be making a last stand. It seemed fitting to make sure you were safe if I died," she answered honestly, bringing a hand up to touch her arrow pendent.

"I don't know what I would've done if you had died," he whispered, kissing her neck. "I couldn't live properly without you."

Natasha moved and turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. Clint let his eyes close momentarily before opening them to focus on Natasha's. "You taught me how to find myself, Clint. If I ever lost you… It's something I don't want to even dwell on," she whispered.

Clint gently captured her mouth with his own. Natasha parted her lips beneath his, moaning into his mouth as he lifted her and carried her over to the kitchen counter. He set her down on the marble, breaking the kiss to pull her top over her head. He undid her bra with deft fingers, tossing it on the floor with her top. He immediately brought his hands to her breasts, earning a loud satisfied moan from his lover.

She pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. He bent his head and wrapped his lips around her left nipple, sucking and nibbling on her puckered nub. Natasha moaned, her fingers threading through his spiky hair, pulling him closer to her. She kept her legs wrapped around his waist, grinding her against his hardening erection.

"Tasha," he mumbled against her lips, smiling she moaned into his mouth. "Tasha."

Her body arched into his touch, her head tossed back as she suddenly came hard when he nipped at her erect bud. He continued to lap at her skin, switching between her nipples. He tugged off her pants and panties off her. "Too much clothes," Natasha mumbled as she fought to think coherently, realising that her lover had yet to remove the rest of his clothes. "Want your skin on mine," she begged, watching her lover's eyes darkened further at her words.

Clint leaned down and captured Natasha's lips hungrily. He helped her push his pants and boxers over his hips and the curve of his ass, kicking them away as far as he could. He buried his right hand in her long red locks. He pushed her down onto the marble and climbed up on top of her, his lips barely leaving hers as he let his weight down her without crushing her. He groaned loudly when Natasha suddenly wrapped her small soft hand around the base of his erection, slowly pumping him twice before positioning him at her entrance.

He slowly pushed himself inside her, the couple moaning in pleasure as his length stretched cunt. Natasha brought her left hand up to interlace her fingers with Clint's right that he had placed beside her head. She brought her other hand to the back of her lover's neck, her fingers playing with the stray locks of his hair.

Clint grunted when Natasha wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles on the small of his back. He shifted so his knees were planted against the marble, knowing that his knees would hurt later. The new angle hit every right possible spot inside her. "Keep your eyes on me, Tasha," he ordered, breaking the kiss so he could lean his forehead against hers. "Wanna watch you when you come for me."

She moaned and pushed her ankles down on the small of her lover's back, pulling him closer to her body. She wanted him to fill her up over and over, never wanted either of them to leave the other again.

They both felt the signs of her oncoming orgasm, her walls fluttering around his cock as her thighs shook around his waist. She kept her eyes on his as she came hard, her scream catching in her throat. He came a few minutes after her, her clenching walls pulling him into his own orgasm…

* * *

 Natasha threw the plastic knife at Tony as he stood up on the couch. Pepper shook her head at her lover as he danced on the couch. The Genius frowned at the red-head assassin and threw a cushion at her. "Come on, Red!" he shouted, making Natasha look up with a raised eyebrow. "Dance!"

Natasha simply grabbed another plastic fork and threw it at him, hitting the spot just like the previous one. "Then dance for us, Tony," she teased, accepting her fresh drink as Clint handed it to her.

"Have you convinced one of our resident geniuses to dance for us?" Clint asked as he sat down beside her, smiling as she leaned into him, pulling his arm over her shoulders. She grabbed another knife and pointed it at Tony's feet before handing it to Clint.

"Your turn," she said simply, smiling as Clint quickly and efficiently threw the knife at Tony's feet, hitting the couch only millimetres from the Genius' feet.

Natasha smirked as Tony fell off the couch, making everyone look at the genius before going back to what they had been doing beforehand. Tony sat up and glared as Steve patted him hard on the back and informed him, "Natasha did warn you."

"Didn't expect Spidey to use me as target practice," Tony muttered, rubbing his head before standing up and pulling Pepper out of her seat to dance.

Clint turned his head to look at Natasha. "Still think we shouldn't go off grid?" he asked as she lifted a hand to interlace her fingers with those of the hand he had thrown around her shoulders.

Natasha looked around at their dysfunctional family and smiled. Looking up at Clint, she answered, "For now, I think Pepper will need help keeping this dysfunctional family together when Steve and Sam go hunting." She kissed him and added, "If it gets too much we can always disappear for a while. And we can take all those vacations we never took at S.H.I.E.L.D."

Clint smiled. "I have your back," he promised softly…


End file.
